:why are we not getting it?:

“OIL PLUNGES!”

“STOCKS TUMBLE AS HOUSE VOTES!”

“GOLD SURGES TO OVER $900!”

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maybe it’s just because i’m older, and i understand more about the financial world that this economic chaos is sadly fascinating.

for my generation, it has been drilled into our heads that we have to work our asses off, invest here and there, get equity in a house and put the max into our 401k so we can retire with millions and marvel in our false sense of security.

this past week has shown me, probably like many others, that we are just living a lie. we are investing money into places where there isn’t money, just pieces of paper with dollar signs.

we have lost all hope in true love and commitment and traded it for the love of things and a fat bank account. all of us.

for once in my life, it is a damn good thing that we have very little money. when you don’t have much, you don’t have much to lose.

the Bible seems so explicit in the way that it addresses money. it is so explicit that it seems nearly impossible for us, especially those of us that are Christ followers, to avoid it. but somehow we do.

we lay back, turn on the tube and begin to bite our worn out nails, wondering what the fate of our nation will be. fear becomes our god, only temporarily replacing money.

yes, i have a family, and yes, i want to be OK. but, i wonder, what on earth would it take for us (and when i say “us” i mean U.S. citizens) to wake up and turn our eyes to a true God? what will it take to stop succumbing to the message that if we store away enough money in investments we are “safe”?

the only answer is for our idols to come toppling down.

the harsh reality is that this empire needs to come down. we are no better than anyone else. we are certainly no wiser.
the best thing that could happen is to suffer.

i realize this is all so morose and unsettling. it isn’t really what i want to think about. but for just one day, if we replace every thought of fear with a deep breath, and every hope for a financially sound future with a hope for peace and love for ALL, what would change?

one of my favorite movies of all time is Reality Bites. it’s a bit dated now, but basically sums up how i feel about life, and how i’ve felt about life since i was very young. this quote from ethan hawke’s character came to mind as i wrote today:

what are we living for?
watches or love?

i think it’s time for a year of Jubalee.